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Friday, June 5, 2015

Plumber Chooses Cut-Away Chassis and Cube- Box Style Body

By Steve Taylor

I’m always interested in which trucks and bodies are being
used by different trades.

Today I shot some pictures of a plumber’s truck here in Tampa,
Florida. Olin Plumbing uses this Box Truck for use in carrying their tools,
supplies and equipment. It is mounted on a Ford Cut-Away chassis. The enclosed
body is of aluminum sheet panel construction and is plywood lined. It has
plenty of space and offers protection from the elements and keeps the contents
secure. The aluminum skin is thin and may be damaged when contacting
objects such as low hanging limbs etc. The good news is that it is relatively
inexpensive to replace the panels.

An alternative design would be fiberglass
reinforced plywood walls, it is a more expensive option but it is not as easily
damaged.

The use of a cut-away chassis allows entryway directly from
the cab into the body in the rear. This truck has a pull-out ramp to provide
for loading tools and equipment.

There are plenty of contents in this body,
tools, equipment and supplies. It has been outfitted with shelving, bins and
racks of wood construction.

The long tools near the rear are stored on vertical
plastic pipes of various sizes. A disadvantage of this body is that it has but
one entryway to access the contents from the outside. The overhead door on this
box truck is more difficult to open, close and lock. It is often left open for
periods of time during unloading and loading potentially exposing the contents
to theft.

An alternative body used by many plumbers is an enclosed
metal body with outside storage cabinets. It is lighter, is normally mounted on
a cut-away and has a lower access height. The smaller items can be stored in
the outside cabinets and the larger materials can be stored in the interior.
These types of bodies have easy access and locking capabilities for the
cabinets. The rear doors are barn style and are easily opened. The metal
enclosed plumber’s bodies are manufactured by companies such as Knapheide,
Reading, Royal and others.

Guest Post by Steve Taylor: Steve specializes in lean
six sigma process improvement. He focuses on consulting with landscape / snow
removal contractors, fleets, distributors and manufacturers in the work truck
industry. He may be contacted at steve@truckarchitect.com
and his website is http://www.upstreamsource.com/